Improvement in cartridge-retractor for magazine fire-arms



ed for it in the' rear EDWARD STABLEB, OF MONTGOMERY OOUNTY^,MARYLAN D.

IMPROVEMENT IN cARTmDGs-EETRAcToRfoR MAGAzmE Firearms..

.-Speciicatioii foi-ming part of Letters PatentiNo. 45,356, dated December 6. 1.864.

To. all 'whom it may concern.'

ne ir. known um I, nowrap sumen, ofM Montgomery county-and State et' Maryland,

vhave invented a new andv Improved Mode of y Introducing by Hand the'Single Cartridge into -Breechlioading Guns and Rides; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full and exact descriptionof the sameas used and appliedl to my Spencer repeatingl hunting-ride, though not' intended to be confined to that particular form of-breech-loader, referencebe'fing had` to the accompanying' drawings, and

to the letters of lreference marked thereon.

The nature ot', my invention consists in so improvingthe Spencer .gun 'that 'it can be loaded with a single `cartridge by hand without exhaustiugor in any respect interfering with the 'ammunition contained in the maga-- "lo'enableothersskillcd in the art' to construct and use myinvention, I will proceed to describe it. 1

As now made the Spencer. and similarlyconstructed magazine-guns are not intended Q to be loaded exceptby cartridges fed in from the magazine.

Figure-1, represents the mechanism of the vSpencer gun with the parts 'in position for r# ing, the barrel with a cartridge inserted be,- ing shown in red lines.- Fig. `L. represents the @same with the'parts 'rotated so as lto'open the breech ofthe barrel andv remove the 'shell of the exploded cartridge, readyfor reloading.

Inforder to make the arm operate as in- `tended,it is necessary'that the retractor A should move forward into the recess providportion of the barrel, so that when a rcartridge is inserted the retractor shall be' in front'of the flange on thecartridge,

for the purpose `of removing the same after the arm .has tired. v

When the annie loaded from the magazine this is' readily accomplished by the mechanism' as originally constructed; but when .it is desired to load the arm by theinsertion of a `single cartridge ibyhand,withoi1t using the magazine, it cannot be effected with certainty, or withoutdiilculty and delay, for the reason that as now constructed the rretractor A will,

after effecting the removal of theempty shell, I' fall baci; against the'shoulder a of block B,

as shown in red in Fig: 2.

If a cartridge 4be inserted `by hand while the 'parts'are Vin this position, it is obvious tha the retractor A, instead of being -in front of tV eilangeof the cartridge, as it should be,

will remain inthe rear of the same, in which position it will prevent the closing of. the

breech, and render a premature explosion of the cartridge almost certain tooccur by its coming in contact with the same when an attempt is made to close the breech@ To remedy this diiiiculty I provide a spring,

b, which is colocated as to operate upon the" -retractor A and throw i't-forward tothe position shown/ in Fig. 2, in which case aV cartridge can be inserted -by-hand, and the ref tractor A kept-in front of 'the cartridge-flange,

as is necessary. In case a spring is n'sed, as shownA inthe drawings, it should be so formed and located that even when extended to itsfulllength,`

as shown in Fig. ,1, its extreme-point shall not extend beyond the peripheryof block B.

The spring` may be secured in place by a screw, as shown', or 'by means of apin instead of the screw, the latter being prevented from falling out bv the wall `of Vthe'fraine in V .which block B works.

spring in place is shownat E, Fig. 3. In this case a circular head or enlargement .is made upon the lower end of 'the sprin`g,'which is ttedfinto a corresponding recess of proper shape and' size in the side of B. `'Ille advantageof this plan is, that both screw and piu `are dispensed with;` and by cutting a slight recess in the side of B', on either. side of the enlargement c on the spring, the point of a knife canbe 4inserted under the spring, and the latter be at once removed from its seat withoutthe use of ascrew-driver or any other implement than such as almost every person is universally provided with.

At F, Fig. 3, another method of attaching 4 the spring'is shown, consisting simply ofa slit cut in the side of B, into which the spring. maybe pressed, it being bet,as shown, to

Another and better method of securing the correspond with the shape of ;the.slit, which. I claim as new, and

will thus hold it firmly in. place, l:ind prevent ters Patent, isit from sliding either up or down. In combination with vthe retraetor A, the

G represents a recess cnt in the sideof B, springt, vsubstmitielly as end-for the purpose partially in the rear of the spring, for the purset forth.

pose of preventing any particles of dirt or EDWD`.'ST'ABLER. other object from getting behind ,the spring Witnesses: f and obstructing its movements. Jos. PEGK,

Having thus described my invention, Wht Wx. RYAN.

desire to secure byLet- 

